Before BK
by Princess Rahnee Honey Lizard
Summary: Okay, there are a lot of "how they met" stories, but my series of BK fanfics wouldn't be complete without it. This is the story of how our heroes met and how they became what they are. Rated T for safety.
1. Children

Four bear cubs played with a rubber ball. The boy cub in yellow shorts passed the ball to the littlest cub as much as possible so as not to leave him out. A girl cub with red hair braided into pigtails passed the ball to her twin sister. The second girl bounced the ball on her forehead. As the cubs ran about the yard, the ball got passed to the baby bear. He gave it a good kick, sending it up into a nearby tree. 

"Now you've done it, Teddy!" the bear with pigtails scolded the little boy. "We can't play anymore," her sister complained. "That's not true. One of us can climb the tree to get the ball," the bear in yellow shorts pointed out. "Uh-uh. Mum doesn't want us to get our new play clothes torn," the girl explained, holding her skirt like she was about to curtsy. Then she noticed her twin heading for the tree.

The bear grabbed the back of her sister's overalls. The boy in yellow shorts watched the evenly matched twins struggle for a moment, and then he turned to Teddy. Teddy was sucking his thumb. The bear in yellow shorts sighed and started to climb the tree. He slipped a few times, but he made it up to the ball.

As he stood on a lower branch to pick up the ball, he noticed a patch of sky within the tree. This was quite striking, considering it was an overcast day. The bear cub tossed the ball down to his friends and sidled along the branch. Upon examination, the patch of sky revealed itself to be a blue backpack within a hollow of the tree.

The little bear climbed into the hollow to get a better look at the backpack. It was rather plain-looking, with red buckles and no extra pockets. There was something about how the bottom was connected to the backpack, but the bear wasn't sure what. He opened the backpack…and got a sore nose for his troubles.

He held his paws to his nose as his blue eyes brimmed with tears. A red bird stuck her head out of the backpack. "What was that for?" the bear cried. Then the anger left his face. "Were you…scared?" he asked. "No!" the juvenile Breegull cried. "I'm not scared of anything!"

"Then why did you peck at my nose?"

The bird stayed stubbornly silent for a moment. "Banjo! What are you doing up there?!" the twins complained from below. "Do you know where my mama is?" the bird asked. _Mama? Could she mean "mummy"? Well, I know how I'd feel if I couldn't find my mummy…_

"No, but don't worry. I'll find her. I promise," Banjo said. "Would you like to come out of the backpack?" "Uh-uh!" she cried, ducking back in. Banjo picked up the backpack and placed the straps on his shoulders. The straps were quite loose, and the pack, too large for a cub, rested on the back of his shorts.

Banjo started down the tree, but the added weight of the bird and her backpack was too much. He fell. The bird realized something was wrong and popped her upper body out of the backpack. She flapped her wings, helping Banjo land on his feet. The twins fell to the ground, laughing at the sight.

"Kimmi, Kayla! It wasn't funny!" Banjo cried, the too-big backpack hanging low on his back. "Alright, sorry," Kimmi said. "Can I see the bird?" she asked Banjo. "Maybe," he said scratching the back of his head. He took off the backpack and held it by the straps. The little bird popped her head out again.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Kimmi sighed. "Those green eyes and that little feather thing on her head…" Banjo looked at the bird. "That's a crest," he said. "Well, it's not like our dad's a _veterinarian_," Kayla said, rolling her eyes. "Birdy. Birdy, birdy!" said Teddy. The Breegull seemed to shrink toward the side of the backpack, eying the drooling toddler.

"So, whacha gonna name it?" Kimmi asked. "Well, I should say _she_ already has a name!" the bird squawked angrily. "I was just about to say that," Banjo said, tipping the backpack so the bird would look up at him. "So, what's your name anyway? I'm Banjo, and these are the twins, Kimmi and Kayla, and their baby brother, Teddy," he continued.

"Kazooie."

Kimmi turned and violently pulled on Kayla's ponytail. Kayla immediately retaliated. "If you hadn't stopped me," Kimmi screamed, "we'd have a pet bird now!" Kazooie turned to look at Banjo. "Are they always like this?" she asked. The clouds, which had been threatening to overflow all day, unleashed their contents upon the town.

The twins ran into their house, followed by Banjo, who was hauling both Kazooie and Teddy. "Mummy, mummy! Look what we found!" Kimmi cried. "Can we keep her? Huh? Huh? Huh?" she said quickly, pointing to Kazooie. "Banjo find Kazooie-birdy," Teddy said, promptly placing his thumb back in his mouth.

Kimmi glared at her brother for blowing her last chance to have a pet Breegull, but their mother inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"No, Kimmi-cub, the bird will go home with Banjo, since he's the one who found it. Dr. Jazz can figure out what to do…"


	2. Parents

On the other side of town, Dr. Jazz and his wife Yuka were waiting out the storm in their big, blue house (Whoops. Wrong bear, but anyway…). Yuka suddenly let out a shriek as a lightning bolt hit the ground close by. Jazz ran to her side. "What is it?" he asked. "I saw… this red blur…Do you think it was someone trapped in the storm?" she asked.

"Probably."

Jazz placed his jacket over his shoulders and ran outside. Yuka grabbed her umbrella and chased after him. Jazz stood over the limp form of a large, red and gold bird. Yuka held her umbrella over her husband. "What is it?" she asked, looking down at the unmoving bird.

"A red crested Breegull. Looks to have been close to that last shaft of lightning. The tail feathers and the feathers along the left wing are badly burned."

The bear knelt down to for a better look. His fingers rested on the bird's chest a moment.

"Alive."

The bear ran his fingers through the bird's feathers, checking for unseen injuries.

"No wounds, no broken bones…female…"

"Jazz!" Yuka said playfully, slapping her husband on the shoulder. He ignored this. "We need to her inside before she has more to worry about than burnt feathers," Jazz said, picking up the Breegull in his arms. Yuka followed after him, still holding the umbrella over him.

Inside the house, Yuka got a towel and gently dried the unconscious bird. Jazz got a blanket and arranged a nest of sorts in front of the fireplace. He set the bird down in it. "What about her feathers?" Yuka asked. "I'll wait until she wakes up. See what she wants to do," he explained.


	3. Reunited

The red Breegull sighed at the bowl of birdseed she had been given. Dr. Jazz had been kind enough to replace her burnt feathers, but that didn't mean she could fly anytime soon. The doctor's wife came and sat down beside the heartbroken bird. Her long blonde hair was woven into a single plait which hung over her left shoulder. The honey bear didn't like the look in the bird's eyes, so she decided to cheer her up. 

"Please eat, Miss Breegull. After it stops raining, I'll go and find some worms for you, huh?" Yuka said. The bird just looked at her with tormented, blue eyes. Yuka sighed and looked away for a moment. "My name's Ukulele, but everyone just calls me Yuka," she said finally. "What's your name?"

The bird still did not speak. She had done nothing but sigh since she had awakened. "If you don't tell me soon, I'm going to call you 'Sharky'!" Yuka joked, tugging on the bird's shark tooth necklace. She'd found it when she was drying the rain soaked bird. The Breegull sighed again.

"Kay."

Yuka let go of the necklace. "You mean...you _want_ to be called Sharky?" she asked. The bird shook her feathered head. "Call me 'Kay'," she explained. "Alright, Miss…_Kay_, how are you feeling?" Jazz asked, coming into the room. "I haven't been better," Kay said.

Confused by the bird's choice of words, Jazz looked over at his wife. She shrugged. The front door slammed. Jazz turned to see his young son, soaking wet and wearing an overlarge, blue backpack, shut the door. When Banjo saw his father, he got excited.

"Papa, Papa! Guess what I found!"

Banjo set down the backpack and proceeded to shake the rain from his fur. "Wait, wait, wait!" Yuka cried, running to fetch some towels. "How did you get here?" Jazz asked. "Did you walk?" "Uh-uh, Ms. Karen brought me over in her car," the boy explained, "but she didn't come up the drive…"

Yuka returned with the towels and proceeded to dry her son. "Mummy!" the child complained. A small smile appeared on Kay's beak at the sight of the bear cub and his parents, but the smile quickly disappeared again. When Yuka had deemed her son sufficiently dry, he wriggled away and picked up the backpack.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Jazz asked pointing to the pack. "Uh-uh," Banjo said. He set the backpack by his feet and grasped the flap on the backpack. "Shh," he whispered. "You don't want to scare her.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not afraid of anything!"

Banjo opened the backpack. He pulled Kazooie out of the pack and placed her on the floor. Jazz knelt down to get a better look. "Where did you find a baby Breegull?" he asked. "She was in a tree in the twins' backyard. She was in the backpack," Banjo explained. Kay looked at the tiny Breegull surrounded by bear feet.

"Kazooie?"

"Mama!"


	4. Houseguests

Thank you, Pasta Masta, and thank you, too, Mama, for reviewing. This story is flowing from my fingers as I'm typing. I'm not sure where some of it is coming from...

* * *

"Come here, sweetie," Kay said, standing up in the makeshift nest. Kazooie ran over and ducked underneath her mother. Kay settled herself back into the nest. "Don't sit on her!" Banjo cried, horrified. "It's okay," Jazz said, walking over to the birds. Banjo followed him.

"Your friend Kazooie probably feels safer this way."

Kazooie stuck her head out from underneath her mother's chest. "Safer from what?" the little Breegull asked. She spotted the bowl of birdseed and tucked in. "Just as sassy as ever, aren't you?" Kay said, smiling at her daughter. "So?" Kazooie answered. Banjo sat down on the hearth next to them.

"Wow! Those are some crazy, yellow shorts you're wearin'!" Kazooie squawked. "Well, yeah…yellow's my favorite color," Banjo said, looking down at his shorts. "I told you my papa could help find your mama, and we found her, just like I promised!" he cried, turning to look at the Breegulls. Kay chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you can keep your promises," she told the little brown honey bear.

"As opposed to what?" Yuka said, placing her paws on her hips. She sensed something in the bird's words. "She's probably talking about my dad," Kazooie piped up. Kay started shaking her head and waving her wings, but her daughter ignored it. "Not that I've ever met him," the little Breegull continued.

Kazooie tucked into the birdseed again. Kay hung her head and replaced her wings at her sides. Yuka came over and knelt beside her. "I don't know what I'd do without Jazz," the honey bear said. "You're a very brave woman." After watching the whole scene silently, Jazz spoke up. "You and your daughter are welcome to stay as long as you want, Kay," he said.

"Alright, now what do you say, Kazooie?" Kay said, prodding at her daughter with a wing. The little Breegull resurfaced. "Eh?" she asked. "Dr. Jazz is letting us stay. Now what do you say?" Kay repeated. "Cool!" the little bird chirped, tucking into the birdseed yet again.

Yuka put a paw to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter. "No," Kay said, drawing out the word. Kazooie lifted her head but stayed stubbornly silent. "You're supposed to say, 'Thank you,'!" Banjo said, poking the little red Breegull. She made a face at him. Yuka couldn't keep her laughter contained any longer. "It's…okay…," she managed between peals of laughter.

"Still, thank you both?" Kay said, turning to Jazz and finding him gone. Yuka got up and went over to the hallway. "His office door's closed," she said, shrugging her shoulders.


	5. Three Years Later

"I can fly!" Kazooie cried, leaping off the jungle gym. "Bree!" She flapped her wings and landed beside Banjo. "Better than I could do," he chuckled. "Mom won't teach me how to really fly, though," Kazooie complained. "I mean, I'm ten years old! I should know how to fly already!" Banjo looked over at Kay; she lay sleeping on a park bench.

"We could…help you with that."

Banjo and Kazooie turned to see two teenagers walking toward them. The first bear had black fur, and he wore a leather vest and red pants. The second bear had white fur and a green forelock, and he wore leather pants covered in chains. "So little Birdie wants to fly, huh? Well, Birdie, fly, fly away," the black bear said.

…

"Ahh! I'm getting out of here!"

Kay woke up to see the polar bear run past her. His arms and belly were covered in claw marks. She turned to see the black bear with his paws around Banjo's neck. The eight-year-old cub kicked and clawed, but he could not get free. Kazooie struggled to get up and squawked in pain.

_"Let him go, or else…"_

The bear turned to see a panda cub glaring at him. "Hey, we speak English here, squirt," he said. The cub leaped up and delivered a devastating kick to his chest, sending him flying backward. Banjo landed and ran over to Kazooie. "Don't look at me like that. I'm f-fine," she said, her voice cracking.

Kay led Banjo, who carried Kazooie, out of the park. "I give up! I give up!" the black bear cried. Banjo turned to see him and the panda just beyond the swings. The little banded bear was sitting on the teenager's back, pulling on his nose. "Let go!" he pleaded. "Who does she think she is?" Kazooie asked. "The little _deus ex machinima._"


End file.
